23rd Sunday, Be Opened (Baptism)

 

Ephphatha—“Be Opened”

In the first reading, in a moment of darkness the prophet Isaiah lifts up his voice to comfort the Chosen people, who were at the moment living in exile. The prophet announces to the people, that soon they would return to their homeland once again. The prophet Isaiah said, “Say to those whose hearts are frightened: be strong, fear not! Here is your God; He comes with vindication; the divine recompense He comes to save you!”

He also predicts great wonders which will have their complete fulfillment with the coming of the Messiah: “The eyes of the blind be opened, the ear of the deaf be unstopped; then will the lame leap like a stag, then the tongue of the dumb will sing. Streams will burst forth in the desert, and rivers in the dry land. The burning sands will become pools, and the thirsty ground springs of water.”

Most Jews believed that when the Messiah would come, he would open the eyes of the blind; cause the paralyzed to walk; the deaf would be able to hear; and those who could not speak, would talk.

Some people brought a man to Jesus, who had a speech impediment, and begged Him to lay hands on the man. And so, “Our Divine Lord took him off-- away from the crowd. He then put His finger into the man’s ears, and spitting, touched his tongue; then He looked up to heaven and groaned, and said to him, “Ephphatha!”—that is, “Be opened!” And immediately the man’s ears were opened, his speech impediment was removed, and he spoke plainly.”

Our Lord’s healing of the deaf and dumb man, in the Gospel clearly indicates that Jesus is the Messiah, because He does what the Jews expected the Messiah to do, as the prophet Isaiah had foretold. But it also indicates that Jesus is God, who has come to save us.

Recall, also, that in the Gospel of Matthew, when John the Baptist was imprisoned, he questioned if Jesus was the Messiah or not. He sent word to Jesus, asking is He the one who is to come, or should we look for another? Our Lord’s response was “Go report to John the Baptist, “The blind see, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise, the poor have the gospel preached to them.” This response by Our Lord indicated that He is the long awaited Messiah, and fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah.

At very beginning of Christianity, the priest prayed over the one to be baptized using the Ephphatha Prayer. Most early Christians were adults, but little children were also baptized from the very beginning as well. The tradition of praying the Ephphatha prayer continues today. When a child is baptized, the priest touches the child’s mouth and ears, and says, “The Lord Jesus made the deaf hear and dumb speak. May He soon touch ears to receive His word, and your mouth to proclaim His faith, to the praise and glory of God the Father.”

These words signify what the child will someday do. Because he is not yet baptized, and because he is just a child, he is unable to hear, and to speak, the word of God, like the deaf man, who could not hear nor speak.

However, once baptized, when the child is old enough, his ears will be touched by divine grace, to receive the Lord’s word, and the child’s mouth, will be able to speak His praises. As he begins to practice his Christian faith, he will proclaim his faith--- to the praise and glory of God the Father.

St. Augustine speaks of how this is put into practice. He said, “the tongue of someone united to God-- will speak of the Good,-- will bring to agreement those who are divided,--- will console those who weep. God will be praised--, Christ will be announced.”

Beginning Sunday, Sept. 8^th (today), those who are thinking about becoming Catholic will meet at 4pm begin the process of OCIA. Those who are not yet baptized, and who may later choose to become Catholic, will be given the ancient Ephphatha Rite, which occurs a few weeks before Easter.

And at the Easter Vigil, those to be baptized will be like the man in today’s Gospel, they will to receive the Word of the Lord by first hearing it, and they will open their mouth to proclaim their faith-- to the praise and glory of God the Father.

Do you know of someone who is not baptized? Do you want to help them to receive the most glorious gift of baptism, whereby God comes to dwell within their heart? Whereby God comes with vindication to defeat the devil by washing away all sin? Whereby God comes to save us? I encourage each and every person here in the church to ask one non-Catholic if they are interested in becoming Catholic or interested in learning about the Catholic faith.

The un-baptized, who choose to become Catholic, long for the day, when God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit will come to dwell in their heart at baptism. They long to hear His word, so that they may profess it, and proclaim it. And to those seeking baptism, the words of the prophet Isaiah can eloquently refer to our Lord’s coming into our hearts at baptism.

“Say to those whose hearts are frightened, be strong, fear not! Here is your God; He comes with vindication; the divine recompense He comes to save you!”